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La Salle?s yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary has begunLAST JUNE 16, De La Salle University started a 360-day countdown to its 100th year. It was a university-wide event, and everyone wore green or white shirt, including the entire DLSU-M family to show support.

Classes were suspended from 9:40 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., so the students could participate and attend the celebration. The program started with Innersoul?s ?Today?s Gonna Be Good Day? music, a rendition of Black Eyed Peas? ?I Gotta Feeling?, accompanied by a dance number from student leaders from different organizations together with the La Salle Dance Company-Street.

The amphitheater was packed and the crowd cheered to the dance number. Green and white confetti filled the theater while the dancers redirected everyone to the Central Plaza, where the program proper took place.

Different La Salle schools were presented and welcomed. The program also highlighted De La Salle University?s history, as well as the development and transition it has made throughout the century.

Pre-centennial celebration

To pump up the centennial Animo, UAAP pep rally was held a week before the centennial countdown celebration. On July 9, La Salle?s UAAP athletes from various sports, including basketball, badminton, volleyball, judo and swimming, paraded to the Central Plaza.

There was the traditional torch lighting, where the torch was passed on from one team captain to another. The oath taking of the athletes, where they promise to practice good sportsmanship and promised never to be absent. There was also a fashion show segment, where selected students ramped their Greentag shirts.

As part of the men?s basketball team?s initiation, members cross-dressed and wore sexy women?s outfit. A lot of other teams had their own version of initiation. Some had their heads shaved, guys wore makeup for the segment, while others painted their face and wore a costume. The rookie cheerleaders also performed with the squad for the first time.

Finally, the most awaited collegiate event, the UAAP Season 73, which happened the next day after the pep rally. La Salle hosts the season and the opening at the Araneta Coliseum, with a message of heroism, with its banner as ?Where Heroes are Made?. This year, UAAP athletes are depicted as heroes because of their hardwork and dedication to sports.

UAAP opening

To make the celebration fun, each school?s mascot got a makeover and came alive through the school?s respective representatives. They even had a short action-packed video to present the mascots! The hero mascots were composed of Jacobo Lorenzo (football) for Ateneo Blue Eagles; Ken Baloaloa (volleyball) for NU Bulldogs; Justin Deans (basketball) for Adamson Soaring Falcons; Gerald Diokno (taekwondo) for UE Red Warriors; Jade Zafra (taekwondo) for UST Growling Tigers; Klaudine Legaspi (swimming) for UP Fighting Maroon; JR Labrador (volleyball) for FEU Tamaraws; and the crowd?s favorite, Enchong Dee (swimming) for La Salle Green Archers.

UAAP opening wouldn?t be complete without song and dance numbers. The pep squad, LSDC, Skittles, and Benilde Dance Troupe showcased their dance talent. Ogie Alcasid and Gary Valenciano paid tribute to its school with a duet. Gary Valenciano also sang and moved to the groove of ?Hataw? with the Manuevers, and backed up by La Salle dance troupes.

To top it all off, the Green Archers had an 18-point lead over UP at the opening game. La Salle?s basketball captain Simon Atkins led the team with an interesting 20-point contribution. Indeed, a good ?green? day!